Merry Christmas

Wishing you a blessed Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Boys

Potato waffles, anyone? Made by a little boy who always rummages around in the cupboards when Mommy's in the kitchen.Superhero goggles.
Hiding from the noisy noisy vaccuum.
Don't turn around for even a moment. Ever.
Ready to play outside!
Look, I came out of this box!
They've been playing together really well lately. A little bit at a time. :)
Bedtime story. Night-night.

Making Arrangements

Floral arrangements, that is! Is it floral if it has no flowers? I suppose floral refers to flora, which means plants. And these are plants. Real ones. Well, bits of them that were chopped off, anyway.
We had a ladies' night and had fun creating these pieces on Friday. Now I have some lovely Christmas decorations, learned some skills and explored some creative talent. Of course the best part was meeting more friendly faces. Oh, and the chocolates... ;)

Christmas Chocolates

Last week I got together with a friend for an all-day chocolate-fest! We used paintbrushes and coloured molding wafers to apply the details, and then filled in the rest of the molds with milk chocolate or white molding wafers. We even made some truffles and caramel-filled squares.
Some of these are too pretty to eat! Although I did eat too many of them already... ;)
It was so fun to hang out and do something crafty. Now I have a desire to run out and find some molds myself and go crazy with some ideas. Maybe she'll let me come over and use hers again....:D

The boys loved playing with a new friend, too. They even had a tea party. Something that Asher loved so much, he's carrying on the tradition at home. Whenever he sees a tea pot he asks, "Tea party? Tea party?" He actually likes tea and coffee and will sit at the table with me and mooch when I have my morning brew. ;)

Gingerbread Shack

The first bake, minus the gingerpeople and gingertrees, which had to be sampled, of course!

One thing I haven't done with the boys yet is make a gingerbread house. They look like fun, but also a lot of work. This week I borrowed a cast iron gingerbread house mold from a new friend and we gave it a whirl. It was handy that I didn't have to do any measuring and cutting, or worry about warping this way.
I couldn't find my piping bags, they must still be packed somewhere. I just used a spatula to apply the royal icing. The house kept falling over. I wonder if next time I should trim the edges, making them even so that it sits flatter on the base. The boys had a blast decorating with haartjes, jelly beans, bells and ribbon-candy. Andes mints were the doors, and Callum was sure to apply one sideways for a special cat door.

Help....I would be saying that too if my house was this lopsided. ;)

The finished product, complete with many many icing-fingerprints. As a result of setting it back up many many times! :D It was so fun. I love making memories like this.

Sugar Free Banana Bread (or Muffins)

Use dates instead of sugar to sweeten your banana bread!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup pitted, chopped dates
2 eggs
6 large overripe bananas
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

If your dates are soft and squishy, you can use them as is, skipping to step 4. If they are hard, soak them for a bit in some hot tap water. Place chopped dates in a small bowl and cover them halfway up with hot water, placing a plate on top. Let them hang out in there while you get your other ingredients ready.

Whisk all your dry ingredients together, and mash the bananas.

Drain the water off your dates (don't worry about squeezing it out) and put them in a bowl with the butter.

Cream butter and dates together until thoroughly mixed. Add eggs and mix well. Mix in mashed bananas, then add the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.

Fill muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes. For banana bread, spread in a loaf pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. The bread freezes well, so I always double the recipe and pour into a 13x9 pan, cut into squares and freeze. The boys love it for breakfast!

Enjoy!